One Year On The Road: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I’ve never been into camping; I was more of an all inclusive resort traveler. So, when we started this journey over a year ago (planning, shopping, downsizing) I’ll admit I was a little worried. I’d stand in the spare bathroom and imagine this was my entire living space, panic, push it aside, and continue about my day. But, a year later, I’m happy to report we didn’t just survive we thrived. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always as glamorous as social media would have you believe, but the good, for us, has outweighed the bad and the ugly. And because of that, we have started planning year two. If you know us, that’s about how long we live in a regular house too!

The Good

1. Traveling with your best friends: It helps that both John and I enjoy mostly the same things. There have been things I wanted to see that he wasn’t thrilled about and vice versa, but for the most part we agree or at the very least compromise. Also, more things are dog friendly than I thought. Sure, we’ve missed out on some things because of Lucy, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Open: I’m much more open to things. I want to see places I never thought I’d have an opportunity to see or that I knew I existed. My biggest fear was driving through Mexico, but because I was open to it, it turned out to be my favorite thing we did (for 3 months)!

Vanity: Last August I told a friend I needed to pick up make up before we got going. I never did, and still haven’t. I am now so comfortable (maybe too comfortable) being in public in clothes a year ago I would have only worn to lounge around the house. And now I’m out and about, and I document on social media!

You all had a lot to say about my clearance rack finds from Cabelas 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Exercise: We move every day. It’s rare we don’t get 10,000 steps in a day.

Outside: My fears while standing in our sticks and bricks bathroom that RV living would be too small has not been my reality. The van doesn’t feel small because nature is so big and I spend most of the day outside.

Unknown: More often than not we have no idea where we will sleep. Sometimes that means a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot, but sometimes it means a beach in Mexico or at the bottom of a snow capped mountain. But that’s all part of the adventure!

Apps: I’m so impressed with how people did this life before apps! We use apps all the time to find BLM, campgrounds, water/dump stations, weather, gas stations, dog friendly excursions… And we can’t forget about Amazon’s lockers. If you can buy it on Amazon, you can get it on the road.

Growth: I’ve learned a lot. Not just about the history of towns, National Parks, and landmarks we’ve seen, but also about myself. I learned how wasteful I could be. I learned what I truly need vs what I thought I wanted. I could write a whole blog on this, but it’s a little too personal and, to be honest, not that interesting to others.

Starlink: Believe it or not, there are a lot of places in the US and definitely Baja that have zero cell service. We chose to not stay in some places because we had no cell service. Now that we have Starlink we can stay anywhere and stay connected. Look out Baja!

Power: It’s pretty cool to be able to create your own power. We have 700 amp hour lithium batteries and never need to pay for a campground to plug in. Unlike AGM batteries, you can drain lithium all the way and then recharge. We also have 400 watts of solar on our roof. We have 2 large portable batteries we use to power Starlink or the router that we can charge when we drive or with our portable solar panel if we aren’t driving.

People: We’ve met and reconnected with a lot of people on our travels. We have met people of all ages with so many different experiences that led them to the spot where we met. I can say, without a doubt, it has restored my faith in humanity. There are a lot of good people out there.

The Bad

Gas: Need I say more? We are diesel and get between 16-17 mpg, which is good for an RV.

Stuff Breaks. Especially when you’re rough on things 🙋🏻‍♀️ Things I’ve broken: our door handle, our door spring, our griddle leg, a bug zapper, 2 pairs of flip flops… Yes, Amazon comes through in the clutch, but not when you break the door in Mexico.

Chore days: Laundry days are usually 2-3 hours start to finish, but making the beds is the worst of it. Pro tip: rainy day activity. Dumping tanks- it’s easy and painless, but never a fun task. Car maintenance days are the worst because they have your house, car, and all of your belongings- oil change, brakes, replacing a cracked windshield… twice. Luckily these aren’t often, and places are usually dog friendly.

Nature: Nature is beautiful, but she has some parts that scare me. Between bugs that bite, bacteria in the dirt in Arizona that causes respiratory failure in dogs, wild animals like venomous snakes, mountain lions, bears, coyotes… each area has their own unique anxiety inducing phenomenon.

Trash: A few bad apples out there leave their trash in some of the most beautiful places ruining it for others and the wildlife.

Big Cities: Narrow streets, crowds, minimal parking, and just getting around in an RV in general make us avoid big cities. We both much prefer a small mountain or surf town.

The Ugly:

Remember when I said it’s not as glamorous as social media would have you believe? I am including myself in that. I mainly post Lucy and our amazing views, but not always the yucky stuff. Partly because it’s just that: yucky! And partly because it’s not that classy, but for the sake of being 75% transparent here goes nothing! No one needs 100% transparency haha

Showers: First, we do shower. We have a shower in the RV and a Planet Fitness membership to shower. I still can’t believe I’m admitting this, but one time we went double digit days without a proper shower. And you know what? It was not an issue. Thank goodness for dry shampoo and hats 😉

Black Tank: For those of you who don’t know, this is your toilet holding tank in an RV. If you’re traveling in an RV with someone, you’ll get to know everything about them. And I mean everything. There have been many times we’ve talked about getting a 4x4 van to explore more remote places as well as navigate those big cities easier. I could give up some space, but I just don’t think I want to switch to a cassette toilet. No hate to those who do have one.

Dumb Drives: Our dumbest, scariest drive was Medicine Mountain in Wyoming. Wind, steep grades, no guard rails, hot brakes… When we finished we both said, “lesson learned. We will be smarter from here on out!” And we have been!

Dirty Bed: We have 2 twin beds that we can push together to make a queen, but we don’t because of Lucy. The jump down would be too far for her. Plus, Lucy gets filthy and sleeps in bed. My bed. I don’t care. John does. So, his bed is clean and mine is full of sand, dirt, fur, and love.

Well, that’s a lot, but really only a fraction of it. It truly has been a golden opportunity that has allowed me to explore, grow, learn, and spend quality time with John and Lucy. I am thankful for this year and look forward to another year on the road.

Stats: 39 states plus Baja, about 36,000 miles, 22 National Parks, and countless memories made.